The Calgary Stampeders were back on the practice field Friday morning, not knowing if this will be their final practice of 2026 or if they’ll be back and getting ready for the playoffs. With fate out of their hands, the Stamps will be cheering on the B.C. Lions to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night. If that happens, they’re in. If not, their season is over. Offensive lineman Christy Nkanu says getting back on the field after the bye week felt good. “It’s still fun to get out there with the guys,” said the Stamps nominee for most outstanding offensive lineman. “We had a little snow and a little cold, and we were throwing snowballs, so it was a good time. Hopefully it’s not the last time we get to practice this year.” Cheering on the Lions It’s hard relying on another team to determine your fate, but that’s the situation for the Stamps. Receiver Erik Brooks says he’ll be cheering hard for the lions on Friday night. “I mean, I’m rooting for them because I want to keep playing football and get to the Grey Cup and extend our season as long as we can,” said Brooks. “I’m hoping they can pull it off tonight, and, you know, the energy is good in the air, so I’m hoping for a good result tonight.” Good run The Stamps had to play well down the stretch just to have a chance to get into the post-season. They won four of their past five games, and defensive back Anthony Johnson believes they can do some damage if they get in. “100 per cent,” he said. “We’ve known for a long time that we were going to have to go on a run, and like coach said, we have to have the mindset and mentality that we have to be ready at all times and definitely ready if we get a shot, and we’re just going to be excited and hope everything goes our way.” Not the Lions’ ‘A’ squad One thing going against the Stamps is the Lions will be resting some of their star players. That includes starting quarterback Nathan Rourke. Stamps head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson says you can’t worry about those things. “We’re not really in the futures market. I’m not in that business,” said Dickenson. “I’ve just got to make sure the guys are ready to go. We’ll hopefully be practising again (Saturday) with an idea at that point that we’re in the playoffs but not even knowing our opponent, so it’s a weird end to the season. “We’re certainly going to be glued to the television screen and hopefully not throwing things at it too late in the game.”
